Director Watch Podcast Ep. 140 – ‘A Couch in New York’ (Chantal Akerman, 1996)
On episode 140 of the Director Watch Podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter discuss the final film in their Chantal Akerman series, A Couch in New York (1996).
Welcome back to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, the boys attempt to breakdown, analyze, and ultimately, get inside the mind of some of cinema’s greatest auteurs. In doing so, they will look at their filmographies, explore what drives them artistically and what makes their decision making process so fascinating. Add in a few silly tangents and a fun game at the end of the episode and you’ve got yourself a podcast we truly hope you love.
Chantal Akerman’s late 1960s to 1970s output is what she is known for and highly celebrated for a time where the director was tapping into something artistically personal that resonates for decades to come. But what happens the rest of her career is a bit of sad, as she tried to chase the glory of her past work, delivering work that is fascinating given her early films, but rather aimless exercises. As the boys look at her past, they take a look at Akerman’s attempt to make a Hollywood romantic comedy, with two leading stars of their times, but is missing the director’s signature point of view and patience, thus making it a weird exercise to explore within her filmography. Ryan and Jay give their thoughts on the film, the strange premise of the film, Hurt and Binoche’s lack of chemistry, if the ending makes sense, Akerman’s documentary work with News From Home that is a much more vital piece of work from the director covering her time in New York. They also give out their rankings for the series and tease the new series they will be starting next week.
You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more. You can also listen on the AW YouTube page.
This podcast runs 1h56m. The guys will be back next week to begin their series on the films of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger with a review of their film, 49th Parallel. You can rent it via iTunes and Amazon Prime rental in preparation for the next episode of Director Watch. Till then, let’s get into it.
Music: MUSICALIFE, from Pond5 (intro) and “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).
Engrossed with all things Oscars, he hosts the AwardsWatch Podcast, alongside members of the AwardsWatch Team. He is also the co-host of the Director Watch podcast with Jay Ledbetter, covering director movie series of cinemas’ greatest auteurs.
Ryan covers multiple film festivals a year including Sundance, SXSW, Telluride, Toronto, New York, Middleburg, and AFI where he reviews films and interviews top talent.
When he’s not watching movies, he’s rooting on all his favorite sports teams, including his beloved Texas Longhorns. He is also a member of the Critics Choice Association (CCA), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), the Latino Entertainment Journalists Association (LEJA) and the Houston Film Critics Society (HFCS).
Jay Ledbetter is a finance manager by day, film critic by night living in Atlanta, Georgia. He began writing about film in 2013 and is not afraid to confront people of all ages if they are too loud in the theater.
As well as his reviews, Jay is the co-host of the Director Watch podcast with Ryan McQuade, our director movie series covering cinemas’ greatest auteurs. In addition to his work at AwardsWatch, Jay has written and hosted podcasts for Film Inquiry and InSession Film. He is an auteur obsessive, regularly diving deep into the filmographies of celebrated filmmakers.
Jay is a proud member of the Atlanta Film Critics Circle and the Georgia Film Critics Association.
- Director Watch Podcast Ep. 140 – ‘A Couch in New York’ (Chantal Akerman, 1996) - February 19, 2026
- Director Watch Podcast Ep. 139 – ‘Les Rendez-vous d’Anna’ (Chantal Akerman, 1978) - February 13, 2026
- Director Watch Podcast Ep. 138 – ‘Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles’ (Chantal Akerman, 1975) with special guest Morgan Roberts - February 5, 2026
Director Watch Podcast Ep. 140 – ‘A Couch in New York’ (Chantal Akerman, 1996) 
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